National Australia Bank (NAB) has moved to assure financial planners it intends to retain the Aviva group despite market speculation the banking giant is looking to jettison the business.
"We want to assure financial planners that we are fully committed to the successful integration of the Aviva business and, in particular, the Navigator platform," MLC & NAB Wealth group executive Steve Tucker said.
"Navigator is an innovative platform with a strong following in the adviser market and it has an important role to play in the future growth of our wealth business."
Tucker's comments come in response to increased industry speculation the wealth manager will look to sell Aviva and Navigator following the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission's (ACCC) decision to block NAB's proposed bid for the local assets of Axa Asia Pacific.
"As we said, we do not believe the ACCC's findings are a correct assessment of the wrap platform market and we are currently assessing our options," he said.
On Tuesday, ACCC chairman Graeme Samuel said the competition watchdog found a merger between NAB and Axa would result in substantially lower competition in the market for retail investment platforms for investors with complex investment needs.
